There was a time not that long ago when taking offensive tackles early in the draft seemed like more of a sure thing.
“I had Willie Roaf as a rookie,” veteran line coach Paul Boudreau said. “He’d knock the rust off a sled. Orlando Pace, coming out, you knew just watching tape he was a can’t-miss.”
Today? Not so much.
“Now, you get these guys, and you don’t know if they can break an egg because there’s no power,” Boudreau said. “Nobody knows how to run-block any more. Nobody knows how to bend their legs.”
Lately, it seems like for every Joe Thomas there’s a Jason Smith.